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Finally, the moment of celebration was flawless, on the field under that unusual deep-blue southern sky, within the tumult of the game-state – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, the veteran batsman steered the ball away through fine leg to notch his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Picture trying to explain the reason this was not just warm, inspiring and cathartic, but profoundly significant.

A Milestone Caught in Time

A player who already had thirty-nine hundreds in this traditional format of a sport has now registered his fortieth. Yet, trace the narrative, the skill, the setbacks.

There'll, of course, be a lot of debate stuff to be hashed out. Does this cement Joe Root's greatness? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

But there is something further about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about rivalry. Every Australian who understands cricket already knows Root is a exceptional cricketer.

Root's Century as a Sturdy Anchor

Root’s hundred felt significant in other ways, particularly as something tangible in the series for this team, a foothold in the ice.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? Don’t know. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook play... the worst shot yet? Yes. He did.

And not just a hundred in Australia, but a brilliant one in authentically tough conditions, an innings that might just have saved his team in this series.

The innings commenced with the wings already falling off, and England’s premier batsman coming out at 5/2. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

In the afternoon session, England were 175 for three. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

On one side, Root was simply being himself, relaxed, lithe, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

All the while, a gloom was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius building up for the key spell of the day.

A Damaging Stroke

Do you run towards this danger? Yes. No sighters, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

The delivery to Brook was full-length, the edge clear. There is no context where this was a good choice.

It was, if nothing else, novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Steady Answer

Thus one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the team's cause.

He offered his own subtle correction, a triumph for diligence, addressing your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he did the thing, provided a lesson in what ability in the end means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Can they evolve? Uncertain. But Joe Root did score a hundred.